Artificer
Artificers are mystic, possibly all-female, constructs, or golems, that are supposedly destined to be enslaved to someone. They are capable of creating magical artifacts of unparalleled power and complexity. When initially manifested, they wield uncontrollable magical power; this can be controlled by tattooing them over their entire bodies with a type of special magic, metallic ink. This also binds their will, making them fully submissive to the one who tattoed them. The exact number of Artificers throughout History is unknown. By Circe's accounting there may be three or four. WoG has it that four were presented to the Five Fold Court. Nephandus was taught that one of the female Artificers was not destroyed. In Eldritch's dreams of the Third's past lives, if not her own, she was marked in metallic tattoos of varying colors and patterns. Whatever the Artificer is, it wants those tattoos, binding artifact, host, and master together. Until that happens the Artificer is completely unable to harness and control the energies connected to them. The color of the tattoo ink depends on its maker, because it requires something intrinsically theirs to work. For example, when Circe made a batch of ink it was green. As noted above, all known Artificers in the past were timid, quiet and reserved. Eldritch is the exception.Upheaval: Walking Alone Third Artificer ::"She’s the Third, the female Artificer that wasn’t destroyed!Call the Thunder, Chapter 3 - All’s Fair in Fun and Chaos Green Tattoo * One who created a mystic staff of dark magic, sacrificing an entire forest and one village, and dipping it into the blood of a Shoggoth. All was done on behalf of a master not of the Material Plane. Jialing * A pre-Sundering Artificer, Jialing was released from her cobalt blue bindings by Sen Vequn. She made a number of known artifacts while still bound. ** This may be the cobalt-blue tattooed Artificer, in Eldritch's memories, who forged a sword out of mithril and orichalcum, quenched in the blood of the Dragon Carathwyn, to a Queen who was not human. The armor for Her Majesty's Champion would require a year.Upheaval: Instructor ** The Temple of the Handmaid in Penglai Shan (Of which the Temple of Heaven in Beijing is a pale replica.) ** A "wondrous loom that shows the warp and weft of fate.". On it is woven The Tapestry, the same that Chou sees in her meditations and dreams.Dream Quest of the Underage Taoist *The following were created after Jialing was freed: ** A sword for a minor Five Fold Court noble, Lord Galios. ** At the request of the Mage Smith Fai Zhan Wu on behalf of the Tao, she created Destiny's Wave after being freed from her mystical enslavement.Forging Anew Ashtea * An artificer known to Aunghadhail, tattooed in black runic patterns, and who took eighteen cycles of seasons to forge her armor.Call the Thunder: Chapter 6 - There is no homework, only Zuul!. She is presumably the one named "Ashtea", which means "Hope", by Vauldrene.Absinthe 2: The Absinthe of Malice: Part 2 Chinese Artificer * One that Eldritch has memories of, was killed by a previous Handmaid of the Tao, Chuan Lien-Hua, as said by Destiny's Wave: ::"She was after you because you were arming an army of the dead with magical weapons. She stopped you so she could stop the army of the dead."Call The Thunder: Chapter 5 - Idiots 'R Us! Galatea * Galatea was actually an Artificer in ancient Athens, apparently under the control of Pygmalion, producing wonders in his workshop that caused a lot of devastation. One quarter of the city was obliterated when she was destroyed. She wore deep purple tattoos.Call The Thunder: Chapter 5 - Idiots 'R UsCall The Thunder: Chapter 7 - Screw this Melancholy Crap! Both Aunghadhail and the Olympians recognized Eldritch as "their" artificer (Ashtea and Galatea, respectively). Gold Tattoo * One, tattooed metallic gold in the form of religious symbols, around the European Middle Ages, when glass was a rarity, that was forced into service of the Knights of the Thorn. Circe also notes that the latest known Artificer (likely the same one) was burned as a witch near the start of the Fourth Crusade. Even that was a mercy. Eldritch * Eldritch, from November 19, 2006 onwards. On December 14 or shortly afterwards, she managed to tattoo herself (in cobalt blue) and gain control of her abilities, but retaining her will.Ashes and Steel She seems to possess Ashtea's memories, saying that she remembers Ashtea meeting Vauldrene: "The girl you look like, she tried to help me at a time when no one else would even consider it."Absinthe 2: The Absinthe of Malice: Part 3 Other Artificers It is unknown whether there remain two, or more, Artificers in this Age, or not. References Category:Powers Category:Artifacts Category:Gen1